1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to education and, in particular, to an educational aid with substituable magnetic items for teaching children to recognize characters.
2. Description of the Related Art
Teaching children, particularly of pre-school age, is a difficult and demanding job for many reasons, including the fact that they have a short attention span. Accordingly, it is often necessary for teachers and day-care counselors to resort to various "gimmicks" to capture and retain the attention of children. One such gimmick is the appearance of "magic" tricks using magnets and the like.
An educational aid using magnets is exemplified by the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,477 which issued to Weinstein on May 16, 1972. However, the educational aid of Weinstein is complicated and difficult for a child to use.
Toys using magnets were developed earlier and were simpler to use. However, they had limited educational value. Such magnetic toys are typified by the device disclosed in Italian Pat. No. 644,912 which issued to Pollato on Sept. 10, 1962, and in U.S. Pat. No. 417,931 which issued to Miatt on Dec. 24, 1889.
Therefore, it remains a problem to develop an attention-getting device of some educational value for children who can be easily taught either by a teacher, by a day-care counselor, or by the children themselves.